Communication device and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

A communication device includes a first holding unit which holds a disk-like first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit which holds a second recording medium which is different from the first recording medium. The communication device further includes a request reception unit configured to receive a request for information indicating a recording medium which is usable by the communication device from a terminal device, and a transmission unit configured to transmit information indicating the first recording medium and information indicating the second recording medium held by the second holding unit to the terminal device when the request is received.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/513,412, filed Jul. 16, 2019, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/049,347, filed Jul. 30, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No.10,375,268, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/495,700, filed Apr. 24, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,057,456, whichclaims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-091438, filedApr. 28, 2016, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a communication device and a method forcontrolling the communication device.

Description of the Related Art

A communication system in which a terminal device, such as a personalcomputer, allows a user to input print setting information and acommunication device, such as a printer, processes a print job based onthe input print setting information has been used.

In the communication system, the terminal device obtains informationindicating a recording medium held by the communication device (mediuminformation) and displays content corresponding to the obtained mediuminformation in a display unit as print setting information selectable bythe user.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-163242 discloses a multifunctionperipheral which transmits information indicating a recording sheet on asheet feeding tray to an information processing terminal and aninformation processing terminal which displays a print instructionscreen in which the recording sheet information received from themultifunction peripheral is reflected and which accepts an input of aprint setting performed by a user on the print instruction screen.

In general, a recording medium, such as a disk medium, is set in acommunication device by a user immediately before printing, andtherefore, the recording medium is not held by the communication devicewhen media information is transmitted. Therefore, in the embodimentdisclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-163242, informationindicating a recording medium which is not held by the communicationdevice when the medium information is transmitted may not be transmittedto the terminal device as medium information. Accordingly, contentcorresponding to the information indicating the recording medium whichis not held by the communication device at the time of transmission ofthe medium information may not be selected by the user as print settinginformation, and therefore, usability may be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a communicationdevice includes a first holding unit which is configured to hold adisk-like first recording medium capable of storing information, asecond holding unit which is configured to hold a second recordingmedium which is different from the first recording medium, and at leastone processor. The at least one processor perform operations includingregistering information indicating the second recording medium held bythe second holding unit, receiving a request for information indicatinga recording medium which is usable by the communication device from aterminal device, and transmitting information indicating the firstrecording medium and information indicating a recording mediumcorresponding to the registered information to the terminal device whenthe request is received. Print setting information corresponding to thefirst recording medium is displayed in the terminal device so as to beselectable by a user when the information indicating the first recordingmedium is transmitted to the terminal device. Print setting informationcorresponding to a recording medium corresponding to the registeredinformation is displayed in the terminal device so as to be selectableby the user when the information indicating the recording mediumcorresponding to the registered information is transmitted to theterminal device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, acommunication device includes a first holding unit which is configuredto hold a disk-like first recording medium capable of storinginformation, a second holding unit which is configured to hold a secondrecording medium which is different from the first recording medium, andat least one processor. The at least one processor includes receiving arequest for information indicating a recording medium which is usable bythe communication device from a terminal device, and transmittinginformation indicating the first recording medium and informationindicating the second recording medium held by the second holding unitto the terminal device when the request is received. Print settinginformation corresponding to the first recording medium is displayed inthe terminal device so as to be selectable by a user when theinformation indicating the first recording medium is transmitted to theterminal device. Print setting information corresponding to the secondrecording medium held by the second holding unit is displayed in theterminal device so as to be selectable by the user when the informationindicating the second recording medium held by the second holding unitis transmitted to the terminal device.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of registeringmedium information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a screen for registering the mediuminformation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating appearance of a disk medium trayaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process, performed by aterminal device, of causing a communication device to perform printingaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process of determining transmission of mediuminformation executed by the communication device according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a print setting screen according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a print process executed by the communicationdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a table used in a process of specifyinga printing method employed in the communication device according to theembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an acceptance setting screen accordingto the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note thatmodifications and alterations appropriately performed on the embodimentbelow based on knowledge of those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the invention are also included in the invention.

A terminal device and a communication device included in a communicationsystem of this embodiment will be described. Although a personalcomputer (PC) is illustrated as the terminal device in this embodiment,the terminal device is not limited to a PC. Specifically, a mobileterminal, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a personal digitalassistance (PDA), a digital camera, or the like may be used as theterminal device. Although an inkjet printer is illustrated as thecommunication terminal in this embodiment, the communication terminal isnot limited to an inkjet printer as long as the communication terminalis capable of transmitting medium information described below to theterminal device. Therefore, the communication device of this embodimentmay be a printer employing any one of methods including a tonerelectrophotographic method and a sublimation method. Although thecommunication device of this embodiment only has an image formingfunction, the present invention is not limited to this and thecommunication device may additionally have a reading device which readsan image on a document so as to function as a copy machine or mayadditionally have other functions so as to function as a multifunctionperipheral. Furthermore, various types of recording medium (a medium tobe subjected to recording or a recording sheet) may be used in an imageforming process as long as the image forming process may be performed onthe recording medium. Examples of the recording medium include whiteplain paper, photo paper, color paper other than white paper, specialpaper of a metallic color to which a film or aluminum is pasted, and anoverhead projector (OHP) sheet. Furthermore, the communication devicemay be capable of not only performing printing on a cut sheet which iscut in advance in a predetermined size but also performing printing on acontinuous sheet. Furthermore, the communication device may perform notonly color recording using a plurality of color recording materials butalso monochrome recording only using black (including gray). Moreover,examples of the printing controlled by the communication device mayinclude not only printing of a visible image but also printing of animage which is not visible or difficult to be seen. The examples of theprinting may further include printing of a wiring pattern, a physicalpattern in fabrication of components, DNA base sequence, and the like.Specifically, various types of device may be used as the communicationdevice as long as the communication device is capable of applyingrecording material to a recording medium.

First, a configuration of the communication system according to thisembodiment will be described with reference to a block diagram ofFIG. 1. Although the configuration is described as below in thisembodiment, functions are not particularly limited to those describedwith reference to FIG. 1.

The communication system of this embodiment includes a terminal device110 which generates a print job and a communication device 120 whichreceives the print job from the terminal device and executes printing inaccordance with the print job.

The terminal device 110 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, aread only memory (ROM) 112, a random access memory (RAM) 113, acommunication unit 114, an operation unit 115, and a display unit 116.

The CPU 111 is a system controller which controls the entire terminaldevice 110 by executing programs stored in the ROM 112 and activatinghardware. The CPU 111 generates a print job for causing thecommunication device 120 to execute printing.

The ROM 112 stores fixed data including control programs to be executedby the CPU 111, data tables, an embedded operating system (OS) program.In this embodiment, the control programs stored in the ROM 112 performsoftware execution control including scheduling, task switching, and aninterruption process under control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM112.

The RAM 113 is a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM). Note that the RAM 113 may store data by a primarybattery, not illustrated, for data backup. In this case, the RAM 113 maystore important data including program control variables withoutvolatilization. Furthermore, the RAM 113 includes a memory area forstoring setting information of the terminal device 110, management dataof the terminal device 110, and the like. The RAM 113 is also used as amain memory and a work memory of the CPU 111.

The communication unit 114 is a component used for connection to thecommunication device 120 or the like and executes data communication.The communication unit 114 is connected to an access point (notillustrated) included in the communication device 120, for example, forthe connection to the communication device 120. Since the communicationunit 114 is connected to the access point included in the communicationdevice 120, the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 maycommunicate with each other. The communication unit 114 may be directlyconnected to the communication device 120 by wireless communication ormay be connected to the communication device 120 through an externalapparatus installed outside the terminal device 110 and thecommunication device 120. Examples of the external apparatus include anexternal access point (an access point 140 or the like) installedoutside the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 and adevice capable of relaying communication, such as an external server. Asa wireless communication method, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) (registeredtrademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like may beemployed. Note that the communication unit 114 may be connected toanother device through a wired local area network (LAN), a universalserial bus (USB), or the like instead of the wireless communicationmethod. Furthermore, examples of the external access point include awireless LAN router.

Note that, in this embodiment, a method for directly connecting theterminal device 110 and the communication device 120 to each otherwithout an external apparatus, such as an external access point, isreferred to as a “direct connection method”. A method for connecting theterminal device 110 and the communication device 120 to each otherthrough an external apparatus is referred to as an “infrastructureconnection method”. In this embodiment, the terminal device 110transmits a print job for causing the communication device 120 toperform printing to the communication device 120 through thecommunication unit 114. The job to be transmitted is not limited to theprint job, and may be a scan job which causes the communication device120 to perform scanning, a copy job which causes the communicationdevice 120 to perform copying, a setting command for changing a settingof the communication device 120, or the like.

The operation unit 115 is an interface for accepting a user input andincludes a physical keyboard, buttons, and a touch panel. In thisembodiment, the terminal device 110 receives an input of settinginformation required for generation of a print job from a user throughthe operation unit 115.

The display unit 116 is constituted by a light emitting diode (LED), aliquid crystal display (LCD), and the like, and performs display of dataand transmission of a notification indicating a state of thecommunication device 120. The terminal device 110 may include a softwarekeyboard including a numerical input key, a mode setting key, adetermination key, a cancelling key, a power source key, and the like onthe display unit 116 so as to accept a user input through the displayunit 116. Specifically, a portion of the display unit 116 and a portionof the operation unit 115 may be integrated so that screen output andacceptance of a user operation are performed in the same screen.

The communication device 120 includes a CPU 121, a ROM 122, a RAM 123, acommunication unit 124, a printing unit 125, a sheet feeding unit 126, adisk medium supply unit 127, an operation unit 128, a sheet detectionunit 129, a disk medium detection unit 130, and a display unit 131.

The CPU 121 is a system controller which controls the entirecommunication device 120 by executing programs stored in the ROM 122 andactivating hardware.

The ROM 122 stores fixed data including control programs to be executedby the CPU 121, data tables, an embedded OS program. In this embodiment,the control programs stored in the ROM 122 perform software executioncontrol including scheduling, task switching, and an interruptionprocess under control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 122.

The RAM 123 is constituted by an SRAM or a DRAM. Note that the RAM 123may store data by a primary battery, not illustrated, for data backup.In this case, the RAM 123 may store important data including programcontrol variables without volatilization. Furthermore, the RAM 123includes a memory area for storing setting information of thecommunication device 120, management data of the communication device120, and the like. The RAM 123 is also used as a main memory and a workmemory of the CPU 121.

The communication unit 124 is a component used for connection to thecommunication device 110, the access point 140, and the like andexecutes data communication. The communication unit 124 has an accesspoint for connection to a device, such as the terminal device 110, as aninternal access point of the communication device 120. Note that, whenthe access point is connected to the communication unit 114, thecommunication unit 124 may directly communicate with the terminal device110 through wireless communication. Note that the communication unit 124may directly communicate with the terminal device 110 or may communicatewith the terminal device 110 through the access point 140. As a wirelesscommunication method, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth(registered trademark), or the like may be employed. Note that thecommunication unit 124 may be connected to another apparatus through awired LAN, a USB, or the like instead of the wireless communicationmethod. Furthermore, the communication unit 124 may include hardwarefunctioning as an access point or operate as an access point usingsoftware functioning as an access point. In this embodiment, thecommunication device 120 receives various jobs from the terminal device110 through the communication unit 124.

The printing unit 125 executes an image forming process (a printingprocess) of forming an image on a recording medium, such as a sheet or adisk medium, using recording material, such as ink, in accordance withinformation stored in the RAM 123 or a print job received from theterminal device 110 or the like and outputs a result of the printing.

The sheet feeding unit 126 holds a recording medium for printing, andsupplies the recording medium to the printing unit 125 under control ofthe CPU 121. It is assumed here that the sheet feeding unit 126 holdsand supplies a recording medium (a sheet in this embodiment) other thana disk medium described below in this embodiment. Furthermore, it isassumed here that the sheet feeding unit 126 is an auto sheet feeder(ASF). The sheet feeding unit 126 may not be the ASF or may beconstituted by a plurality of sheet feeding units.

The disk medium supply unit 127 holds a recording medium for printing,and supplies the recording medium to the printing unit 125 under controlof the CPU 121. The disk medium supply unit 127 is holds and supplies adisk-like recording medium capable of storing information in thisembodiment. Examples of the disk medium include a compact disc (CD), adigital versatile disk (DVD), and a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc(BD). Although the disk medium supply unit 127 has a tray (a disk mediumtray) which stores a disk medium in this embodiment, the presentinvention is not limited to this. Specifically, a disk medium may bedirectly set to the communication device 120 without using the diskmedium tray.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating appearance of the disk medium tray. Auser sets and fixes a disk medium to be subjected to printing in a setposition 401 on a disk medium tray 400. Then the user inserts the diskmedium tray 400 into the disk medium supply unit 127 using a positioningmark 402. Specifically, the user inserts the disk medium tray 400 to aposition in which a positioning mark, not illustrated, included in thedisk medium supply unit 127 matches the positioning mark 402. When thedisk medium tray 400 is appropriately inserted into the disk mediumsupply unit 127, the communication device 120 becomes available forexecution of disk medium printing described below.

The operation unit 128 is an interface for accepting a user input and isconstituted by a physical keyboard, buttons, and a touch panel. In thisembodiment, the communication device 120 accepts an input of informationin a screen displayed in the display unit 131, an instruction forcontinuance of the printing, and the like from the user through theoperation unit 128.

The sheet detection unit 129 performs a detection of a sheet held in thesheet feeding unit 126 by a general detection method so as to determinewhether a sheet is held in the sheet feeding unit 126.

The disk medium detection unit 130 performs a detection of a disk mediumheld in the disk medium supply unit 127 by a general detection method soas to determine whether a disk medium is held in the disk medium supplyunit 127.

The display unit 131 is constituted by an LED, an LCD, and the like, andperforms display of data and transmission of a notification indicating astate of the communication device 120. The communication device 120 mayinclude a software keyboard including a numerical input key, a modesetting key, a determination key, a cancelling key, a power source key,and the like on the display unit 131 so as to accept a user inputthrough the display unit 131. Specifically, a portion of the displayunit 131 and a portion of the operation unit 128 may be integrated sothat screen output and acceptance of a user operation are performed inthe same screen.

Note that the user may register medium information in the communicationdevice 120 through the operation unit 128 and the display unit 131. Inthe registration of medium information, a medium (a recording medium)set in the communication device 120 is registered. When the mediuminformation is registered, the registered information is stored in theRAM 123. The communication device 120 may recognize a set medium, thatis, a medium to be used for printing with reference to the registeredinformation.

The user may perform a setting indicating whether the communicationdevice 120 accepts the disk medium printing through the operation unit128 and the display unit 131 (an acceptance setting). Informationindicating the setting is stored in the RAM 123 similarly to theregistration information of the medium information. Furthermore, as willbe described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the user may performthe registration of medium information and the acceptance settingthrough the terminal device 110 without using the operation unit 128 andthe display unit 131 by using a remote user interface (UI) function. Theremote UI function enables a remote operation of the communicationdevice 120 by displaying a screen for operating the communication device120 in the terminal device 110.

Furthermore, the communication device 120 may execute “disk mediumprinting” which is a printing method for performing printing on a diskmedium and “sheet medium printing” which is a printing method forperforming printing on a recording medium other than a disk medium (suchas a sheet) in this embodiment. The terminal device 110 transmits aprint job to cause the communication device 120 to execute printing. Theprint job includes information indicating one of the printing methods tobe used in the printing. This information is referred to as “printsetting information”, for example.

Furthermore, when the number of network supporting apparatuses, such ascommunication devices and terminal devices, is increased, acommunication protocol between the devices in a network, a system ofdiscovery of the devices, a system of installation of the devices, and aspecification of a printing service are standardized. Examples of thestandardized communication protocol (standard system protocol) includean internet printing protocol (IPP) and a web services on devices (WSD).Furthermore, in addition to the standard system protocol, acommunication protocol uniquely developed by a printer vender may beused (non-standard system protocol). In this embodiment, when differentprotocols are used, different screens are displayed in the terminaldevice 110 in printing and information transmitted and received by theterminal device 110 and the communication device 120 has differentformats. Note that the print job transmitted from the terminal device110 includes information indicating a used communication protocol, andtherefore, the communication device 120 which receives the print job mayrecognize the used communication protocol with reference to theinformation.

A method for executing printing in accordance with the standard systemprotocol will now be described. First, the terminal device 110 accepts auser operation in a state in which image/document data to be printed isspecified and installs a predetermined printer driver (a standarddriver) for executing printing by the communication device 120 inaccordance with the standard system protocol. Thereafter, the terminaldevice 110 transmits a request for transmitting a notificationindicating medium information described below to the communicationdevice 120 so as to obtain the medium information and display a printsetting screen corresponding to the medium information. Subsequently,when accepting an input of a print setting performed by the user so thatprinting is instructed, the terminal device 110 issues a print job basedon the image/document data to be printed and the accepted print settingand transmits the print job to the communication device 120 inaccordance with the standard system protocol. In this way, the printingbased on the standard system protocol is executed. Once the standardsystem driver is installed, the same process is not executed again.Specifically, next printing may be executed in accordance with thestandard system protocol when the user activates the installed standardsystem driver. Note that, in this embodiment, the terminal device 110requests transmission of a notification of medium information every timethe standard system driver is activated and performs obtainment of themedium information and display of a print setting screen correspondingto the obtained medium information. This is because the mediuminformation indicates a medium currently held by the communicationdevice 120, and therefore, the medium information may be changed. Notethat, in the standard system protocol printing, the communication device120 executes the disk medium printing when “12 cm×12 cm” is set asmedium size information, “disk” is set as medium type information, and“disk” is set as supply unit information in the received print job.Furthermore, the communication device 120 executes the sheet mediumprinting when content other than “disk” is set as the medium typeinformation and “ASF” is set as the supply unit information in thereceived print job.

Next, a method for executing printing in accordance with thenon-standard system protocol will be described. First, the terminaldevice 110 accepts a user operation in a state in which image/documentdata to be printed is specified and installs a predetermined printerdriver (a non-standard system driver) for executing printing by thecommunication device 120 in accordance with the non-standard systemprotocol. The non-standard system driver is a printer vender-specificprinter driver which is unique to a machine model of the communicationdevice 120. The terminal device 110 obtains information indicating afunction executable by the communication device 120 (functionalinformation) when the non-standard system driver is installed. Then theterminal device 110 displays a print setting screen in which an optioncorresponding to the function executable by the communication device 120may be displayed. Subsequently, when accepting an input of the printsetting performed by the user so that printing is instructed, theterminal device 110 issues a print job based on the image/document datato be printed and the accepted print setting and transmits the print jobto the communication device 120 in accordance with the non-standardsystem protocol. In this way, the printing based on the non-standardsystem protocol is executed. Once the non-standard system driver isinstalled and a communication device is selected, the same processes arenot executed again. Specifically, next printing may be executed inaccordance with the non-standard system protocol when the user activatesthe installed non-standard system driver. Note that the terminal device110 obtains the functional information when the non-standard systemdriver is installed in this embodiment. Specifically, the terminaldevice 110 does not obtain the functional information every time thenon-standard system driver is activated. This is because the functionalinformation indicates the function executable by the communicationdevice 120 as described above, and therefore, it is unlikely that thefunctional information is changed.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of a process of registering informationindicating a medium set in the sheet feeding unit 126 of thecommunication device 120 (a medium information registration process)performed by the terminal device 110 in this embodiment. When the mediuminformation registration process is performed, the communication device120 may recognize the medium set in the sheet feeding unit 126. Notethat processes to be executed by the devices in this sequence diagramare realized when the CPUs included in the devices read various programsstored in the memories included in the devices into the RAMs included inthe devices and execute the programs. The sequence diagram is started ina state in which the terminal device 110 activates a browser applicationand executes the remote UI function. The terminal device 110 may executethe remote UI function when an IP address of a communication device tobe operated is input to the browser application or when a remote UIfunction execution button is pressed in a screen displayed by theprinter driver.

First, in step S201, a user 200 performs an operation for executing themedium information registration process on the terminal device 110.Specifically, the user 200 performs an operation for displaying a screencorresponding to the medium information registration process (a mediuminformation registration screen) in the display unit 116.

In step S202, the terminal device 110 requests information fordisplaying the medium information registration screen to thecommunication device 120 in accordance with the accepted operation.

In step S203, the communication device 120 transmits information fordisplaying the medium information registration screen stored in thememory, such as the ROM 122 or the RAM 123, to the terminal device 110.

In step S204, the terminal device 110 displays the medium informationregistration screen through the browser application in accordance withthe information received from the communication device 120 in step S203.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the medium information registrationscreen. A medium information registration screen 301 includes a screentitle 302, a medium size 303, and a medium type 304 displayed thereon.The medium size 303 indicates a size of a medium set in the sheetfeeding unit 126, and the medium type 304 indicates a type of the mediumset in the sheet feeding unit 126. The user 200 may select one of sizes“A4”, “4×6”, “12 cm×12 cm”, “postcard”, “letter”, and the like assetting content of the medium size 303. The user 200 may select one oftypes “glossy paper”, “mat paper”, “silky tone paper”, “plain paper”,and the like as setting content of the medium type 304. The user 200 mayarbitrarily change information input in the medium size 303 and themedium type 304 by performing a medium information registrationoperation described below so as to arbitrarily change medium sizeinformation and medium type information to be registered in thecommunication device 120. A determination button 305 is pressed when theinput is completed. When the determination button 305 is pressed, theterminal device 110 records the input information in the RAM 113. In theexample of FIG. 3, the medium size of A4 and the medium type of glossypaper have been input in the screen.

In step S205, the user 200 performs the medium information registrationoperation while checking the medium information registration screen 301.The user 200 inputs arbitrary information in the medium size 303 and themedium type 304, and presses the determination button 305 when the inputis completed.

In step S206, the terminal device 110 transmits the medium informationgenerated based on the medium information registration operation to thecommunication device 120.

In step S207, the communication device 120 stores the received mediuminformation in the memory, such as the RAM 123, so as to register themedium information.

In this way, the user 200 may perform the medium informationregistration process by a remote operation through the terminal device110 using the remote UI function. Furthermore, the user 200 may registerthe medium information in the communication device 120 which does notinclude an operation unit and a display unit, for example, using theremote UI function. The user 200 may execute the medium informationregistration process by directly operating the communication device 120at a time of a setting of a sheet feeding tray, for example, withoutusing the remote UI function.

Furthermore, the user 200 may determine whether the disk medium printingdescribed below is to be accepted by the communication device 120 byperforming the same operation using the remote UI function.Specifically, in step S201, the user 200 performs an operation ofdetermining whether the disk medium printing is to be performed on theterminal device 110. By this, a screen for determining whether the diskmedium printing is to be accepted (an acceptance setting screen 1001) isdisplayed in the display unit 116 in step S204 as illustrated in FIGS.10, and therefore, the user 200 inputs an arbitrary setting in stepS205. Specifically, the user 200 inputs a result of the determination asto whether the disk medium printing is to be accepted. In step S206, theterminal device 110 transmits setting information based on the input bythe user 200 to the communication device 120. The communication device120 thereafter determines whether the disk medium printing is to beperformed in accordance with the received setting information. By this,the disk medium printing acceptance setting is completed. Note that thesetting described above may be applied only to the disk medium printingbased on the standard system protocol.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram of a process, performed by the terminaldevice 110, of causing the communication device 120 to execute printing.Note that processes executed by the devices in this sequence diagram arerealized when the CPUs included in the devices read various programsstored in the memories included in the devices into the RAMs included inthe devices and execute the programs. Note that the communication amongthe devices is executed in accordance with the standard system protocolin a description below.

The terminal device 110 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the terminal device110 illustrated in FIG. 5 may be different from each other.Specifically, registration of medium information and transmission of aprint job may be performed by different terminal devices. Note that thissequence is started after the user 200 operates the terminal device 110so as to select image data to be printed by the communication device120.

In step S501, the user 200 performs a print setting screen displayoperation for displaying a print setting screen in the display unit 116on the terminal device 110.

In step S502, the terminal device 110 transmits a medium informationtransmission request to the communication device 120 in accordance withthe received print setting screen display operation. This operation isperformed since an option of print setting information settable by theuser 200 is based on medium information received from the communicationdevice 120 in the print setting process based on the standard systemprotocol, for example.

In step S503, the communication device 120 performs medium informationtransmission determination in response to the received mediuminformation transmission request. The medium information transmissiondetermination is a process of specifying medium information to betransmitted to the terminal device 110. The medium informationtransmission determination will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the medium information transmissiondetermination process executed by the communication device 120. Theprocess of this flowchart is realized when the CPU 121 reads variousprograms stored in the memory, such as the ROM 122, into the RAM 123 andexecutes the programs. Furthermore, the process of this flowchartcorresponds to the process in step S503, and therefore, is started whenthe process in step S502 is completed.

In step S601, the CPU 121 receives a medium information transmissionrequest from the terminal device 110.

In step S602, the CPU 121 determines whether the disk medium informationis to be transmitted to the terminal device 110. Specifically, thisdetermination is made by the CPU 121 by determining whether thecommunication device 120 supports the disk medium printing, for example.The determination as to whether the communication device 120 supportsthe disk medium printing is made in accordance with informationindicating a mechanism of the communication device 120, destinationinformation, device model information of the communication device 120,and the setting information indicating whether the disk medium printinghas been accepted in the acceptance setting described above. The CPU 121determines that the communication device 120 supports the disk mediumprinting if the communication device 120 has a mechanism (a disk mediumsupply unit, for example) or a function which enables execution of thedisk medium printing or if the user 200 accepts the disk mediumprinting. Specifically, the CPU 121 determines that the disk mediuminformation is to be transmitted to the terminal device 110 and performsa process in step S603. On the other hand, the CPU 121 determines thatthe communication device 120 does not support the disk medium printingif the communication device 120 does not have a mechanism or a functionwhich enables execution of the disk medium printing or if the user 200does not accept the disk medium printing. Specifically, the CPU 121determines that the disk medium information is not to be transmitted tothe terminal device 110 and performs a process in step S604. Note thatthe CPU 121 determines that the communication device 120 does notsupport the disk medium printing if the user 200 does not accept thedisk medium printing although the communication device 120 has amechanism or a function which enables execution of the disk mediumprinting. The disk medium information is used to display the settingcontent of the disk medium printing in a print setting screen 701 as anoption. Furthermore, the setting content of the disk medium printing isat least one of the medium size information “12 cm×12 cm”, the mediumtype information “disk”, and the supply unit information “disk” in thisembodiment.

In step S603, the CPU 121 transmits the sheet medium information and thedisk medium information to the terminal device 110. Here, in thisembodiment, the CPU 121 determines that the disk medium information istransmitted to the terminal device 110 irrespective of a result of adetermination as to whether a disk medium has been set in the diskmedium supply unit 127.

In step S604, the CPU 121 transmits the sheet medium information to theterminal device 110. Specifically, the CPU 121 does not transmit thedisk medium information to the terminal device 110.

When the process in step S603 or step S604 is terminated, the CPU 121performs the process in step S504 and transmits the medium informationto the terminal device 110 in accordance with transmission contentdetermined in step S603 or step S604.

As described above, in the print setting process using the standardsystem protocol, for example, an option corresponding to the mediuminformation transmitted to the terminal device 110 is displayed in theprint setting screen. Furthermore, in the print setting process usingthe standard system protocol, for example, the communication device 120generally transmits only sheet medium information registered in themedium information registration process, that is, information indicatinga medium set in the sheet feeding unit 126 to the terminal device 110.However, in the medium information registration process, informationindicating a disk medium may not be registered. This is because a diskmedium is barely set in advance in the communication device 120 althoughthe medium information registration is performed to cause thecommunication device 120 to recognize a medium which is currently set.Specifically, this is because the communication device 120 accepts asetting of a disk medium after receiving a print job corresponding tothe disk medium printing due to mechanism restriction. Therefore, in theprint setting process using the standard system protocol, thecommunication device 120 may not transmit the disk medium information asmedium information to be transmitted to the terminal device 110. Inaddition, setting content of the disk medium printing may not bedisplayed in the print setting screen as an option, and therefore, thecommunication device 120 may not execute the disk medium printing.

Here, the communication device 120 of this embodiment transmits, inaddition to the information registered in the medium informationregistration process, the disk medium information to the terminal device110 in the transmission process in step S504. By this, setting contentof the disk medium printing may be displayed in a print setting screen701 as an option. Furthermore, the terminal device 110 may cause thecommunication device 120 to execute the print job associated with thedisk medium printing. Furthermore, the CPU 121 transmits the disk mediuminformation to the terminal device 110 in accordance with a result of adetermination as to whether the communication device 120 supports thedisk medium printing. When the communication device 120 does not supportthe disk medium printing, for example, the CPU 121 does not transmit thedisk medium information to the terminal device 110. By this, the CPU 121may reduce the number of options displayed in the print setting screen701 and usability in the print setting may be improved.

The determination in step S602 may be performed by determining whether asheet has been set in the sheet feeding unit 126. In this case, the CPU121 detects a sheet set in the sheet feeding unit 126 using the sheetdetection unit 129. When a sheet is detected, the CPU 121 determinesthat a sheet has been set in the sheet feeding unit 126. Specifically,the CPU 121 determines that the disk medium information is not to betransmitted to the terminal device 110 and performs a process in stepS604. This is because it is highly likely that the disk medium printingis not performed but the sheet medium printing is performed when a sheetis set in the sheet feeding unit 126. On the other hand, when a sheet isnot detected, the CPU 121 determines that a sheet has not been set inthe sheet feeding unit 126. Specifically, the CPU 121 determines thatthe disk medium information is to be transmitted to the terminal device110 and performs a process in step S603. This is because it is likelythat any one of the sheet medium printing and the disk medium printingis performed when a sheet is not set in the sheet feeding unit 126.

Furthermore, the determination in step S602 may be performed bydetermining whether the communication device 120 has prepared for thedisk medium printing, for example. In this case, the CPU 121 determineswhether a disk medium has been set in the disk medium supply unit 127using the disk medium detection unit 130. Furthermore, the CPU 121determines whether a cover (an opening and closing member) for openingand closing an insertion slot to which a disk medium or a disk mediumtray is inserted in the disk medium supply unit 127 is located in anopen position for opening the insertion slot. The CPU 121 determinesthat the disk medium printing is prepared when it is determined that adisk medium has been set or the cover is located in the open position.Specifically, the CPU 121 determines that the disk medium information isto be transmitted to the terminal device 110 and performs the process instep S603. When the communication device 120 has prepared for the diskmedium printing, it is highly likely that the printing using a diskmedium is to be performed. On the other hand, the CPU 121 determinesthat the disk medium printing has not been prepared when it isdetermined that a disk medium has not been set or the cover is locatedin a close position for closing the insertion slot. Specifically, theCPU 121 determines that the disk medium information is not to betransmitted to the terminal device 110 and performs a process in stepS604. When the communication device 120 has not prepared for the diskmedium printing, it is not likely that the printing using a disk mediumis to be performed.

Note that the CPU 121 may execute the determinations described above incombination in step S602. In this case, the CPU 121 performs the processin step S604 when it is determined that the disk medium information isnot to be transmitted according to all the combined determinations. Thenthe CPU 121 performs the process in step S604 when it is determined thatthe disk medium information is to be transmitted in one of the combineddeterminations.

In this way, the CPU 121 may control the transmission of the disk mediuminformation in accordance with a configuration and a setting state ofthe communication device 120 and states of the sheet feeding unit 126and the disk medium supply unit 127.

Note that the CPU 121 may transmit the disk medium information and thesheet medium information every time the medium information transmissionrequest is received from the terminal device 110, and in this case, themedium information transmission determination in step S503 may beomitted. In this case, an option of the disk medium printing isdisplayed every time in the print setting screen 701, and occurrence ofa case where the option of the disk medium printing is not displayed dueto an erroneous determination although the user desires to perform thedisk medium printing may be suppressed.

Although the information registered in the medium informationregistration process is transmitted as the medium informationtransmitted in accordance with the medium information transmissionrequest, the present invention is not limited to this. In a case wherethe communication device 120 has a function of detecting a medium set inthe communication device 120 itself, for example, the CPU 121 may detecta medium set in the communication device 120 and transmit informationindicating the detected medium. Also in this case, the CPU 121 transmitsthe disk medium information to the terminal device 110 when it isdetermined that the disk medium information is to be transmitted to theterminal device 110 irrespective of a determination as to whether a diskmedium has been set in the disk medium supply unit 127.

In step S504, the communication device 120 transmits the mediuminformation to the terminal device 110 in accordance with a result ofthe medium information transmission determination in step S503.Specifically, the communication device 120 transmits only the mediuminformation (the sheet medium information) associated with a medium setin the sheet feeding unit 126 to the terminal device 110 when it isdetermined that the disk medium information is not to be transmitted inthe medium information transmission determination. Specifically, thecommunication device 120 transmits only information corresponding tocontent registered in the medium information registration process to theterminal device 110. On the other hand, the communication device 120transmits the disk medium information to the terminal device 110 inaddition to the sheet medium information when it is determined that thedisk medium information is to be transmitted in the medium informationtransmission determination. Note that the communication device 120 maytransmit only the disk medium information to the terminal device 110 butnot transmit the sheet medium information to the terminal device 110when it is determined that the disk medium information is to betransmitted in the medium information transmission determination. Thisis because, in particular, it is highly likely that the sheet mediumprinting is not performed but the disk medium printing is performed whenit is determined that the disk medium information is to be transmittedsince a disk medium has been set in the disk medium supply unit 127.Note that the communication device 120 may execute the determinationsdescribed above in combination in step S602 and specify three patternsincluding a pattern in which the disk medium information is not to betransmitted, a pattern in which the disk medium information is to betransmitted, and a pattern in which only the disk medium information isto be transmitted. Specifically, when it is determined that a diskmedium has been set in the disk medium supply unit 127, for example, itis determined that only the disk medium information is to betransmitted, and otherwise, the determination may be performed asdescribed above. When it is determined that only the disk mediuminformation is to be transmitted, the CPU 121 transmits only the diskmedium information in step S504.

In step S505, the terminal device 110 displays a print setting screen inthe display unit 116 using the medium information transmitted in stepS504.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the print setting screen of thisembodiment. The print setting screen is used to input settinginformation included in a print job to be transmitted in step S507. Whenreceiving the print job, the communication device 120 executes printingin accordance with content of the setting information included in theprint job (that is, content set using the print setting screen).

The print setting screen 701 includes a title 702 and setting items 703to 708. The user 200 may change or set content of the setting items 703to 708 using the operation unit 115. Options of the content of thesetting items 703 to 708 correspond to the medium informationtransmitted in step S504. Specifically, when only the sheet mediuminformation is included in the medium information, the user 200 mayselect content registered in the communication device 120 as the settingcontent of the setting items 703 to 708. On the other hand, when thesheet medium information and the disk medium information are included inthe medium information, the user 200 may select content registered inthe communication device 120 and setting content of the disk mediumprinting as the setting content of the setting items 703 to 708.

A medium size 703 indicates setting content of a size of a recordingmedium used in printing executed by the communication device 120. Theuser 200 may select one of sizes “A4”, “4×6”, “12 cm×12 cm”, “postcard”,“letter”, and the like as setting content of the medium size 703. Amedium type 704 indicates setting content of a type of the recordingmedium used in the printing executed by the communication device 120.The user may select one of types “plain paper”, “photo paper”, “disk”,and the like as setting content of the medium type 704. Note thatoptions of the medium size 703 and the medium type 704 (options in theprint setting screen 701) may be different from options of the mediumsize 303 and the medium type 304 (options in the medium informationregistration screen). For example, a number of detailed options which islarger than those of the medium type 704 may be displayed in the mediumtype 304. In this case, the communication device 120 transmitsinformation obtained by converting the content registered as the mediumsize 303 and the medium type 304 into content of the medium size 703 andthe medium type 704 to the terminal device 110 as medium information.Specifically, the communication device 120 converts informationindicating that “glossy paper” or “mat paper” has been registered as themedium type 304 into “photo paper” and transmits the information to theterminal device 110, for example.

A printing side 705 indicates a result of a determination as to whetherthe communication device 120 performs single-side printing ordouble-side printing. The user 200 may select “single side” indicatingthe single-side printing or “double side” indicating the double-sideprinting as setting content of the printing side 705. Print quality 706indicates setting content of finish of printing to be executed by thecommunication device 120. The user 200 may select quality of printingfrom among “standard” and “high quality” as the setting content of theprint quality 706. A color 707 indicates a result of a determination asto whether the communication device 120 performs color printing ormonochrome printing. The user 200 may select a color setting from among“color” and “monochrome” as the setting content of the color 707. Asupply unit 708 indicates a supply source of a recording medium used inthe printing executed by the communication device 120. The user 200 mayselect “ASF” indicating the sheet feeding unit 126 or “disk” indicatingthe disk medium supply unit 127 as setting content of the supply unit708. Note that, when the sheet feeding unit 126 includes a plurality ofsheet feeding units, the user 200 may select any one of the plurality ofsheet feeding units. Furthermore, the user 200 may select “auto” whichis content indicating that the communication device 120 automaticallyselects setting values of the setting items 703 to 708 in a methoddescribed below.

As described above, the communication device 120 transmits only theinformation corresponding to content registered in the mediuminformation registration process (the sheet medium information) to theterminal device 110 when it is determined that the disk mediuminformation is not to be transmitted in the medium informationtransmission determination. When the medium size information included inthe sheet medium information is “A4” and the medium type informationincluded in the sheet medium information is “photo paper”, the user 200may select “A4” as the medium size, “photo paper” as the medium type,and “ASF” as the supply unit. Note that the user 200 may select “auto”in each of the setting items 703 to 708 as described above. On the otherhand, the communication device 120 transmits the disk medium informationto the terminal device 110 in addition to the sheet medium informationwhen it is determined that the disk medium information is to betransmitted in the medium information transmission determinationdescribed below, for example. Therefore, in this case, when the sheetmedium information has the content described above, the user 200 mayselect “A4” and “12 cm×12 cm” as the medium size, “photo paper” and“disk” as the medium type, and “ASF” and “disk” as the supply unit. Notethat the user 200 may select “auto” in the setting items 703 to 708 asdescribed above.

Note that setting items settable in the print setting screen 701 andcontent selectable in the setting items are not particularly restricted.In a case where the communication device 120 does not support thedouble-side printing, for example, only “single side” may be set in theprinting side 705, and therefore, the printing side 705 may not bedisplayed or only “single side” may be in selectable state. Settingitems only having “auto” as options of content may not be displayed.Furthermore, layout of the print setting screen 701 is not particularlyrestricted. For example, the title 702 may not be displayed.Furthermore, some of the items may be determined in conjunction with oneanother. When “disk” is selected as the medium type, for example, “12cm×12 cm” may be automatically selected or options other than “12 cm×12cm” may not be selectable.

Furthermore, the setting content of the medium size 703 and the mediumtype 704 may be automatically determined by the terminal device 110 inaccordance with the medium information obtained from the communicationdevice 120 in step S504, and therefore, may not be displayed in theprint setting screen 701. By this, a user operation of inputting theprint setting information may be simplified.

The process in step S505 may be skipped depending on specification of aprint application installed in the terminal device 110. Specifically,display of the print setting screen 701 may be omitted. This is because,in a use case where content of setting items is fixed, the user may notchange or set the content of the setting items.

In step S506, the user 200 inputs the print setting information throughthe print setting screen 701 displayed in step S505 and instructsexecution of printing.

In step S507, the terminal device 110 transmits the print settinginformation corresponding to the content of the setting items 703 to 708input in step S506 and the print job including image data selected bythe user 200 to the communication device 120.

In step S508, the communication device 120 executes printing inaccordance with the content of the print job received from the terminaldevice 110. This process will be described hereinafter in detail withreference to FIG. 8.

Note that, although the communication device 120 executes the mediuminformation transmission in step S504 in this embodiment, a timing whenthe medium information transmission is performed is not limited to this.For example, the medium information transmission may be performed whenthe terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 are connectedto each other through the communication unit 114 and the communicationunit 124 for the first time.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the print process executed by the communicationdevice 120 according to this embodiment. The process of this flowchartis realized when the CPU 121 reads various programs stored in thememory, such as the ROM 122, into the RAM 123 and executes the programs.Furthermore, the process of this flowchart corresponds to the process instep S508, and therefore, is started when the process in step S507 iscompleted.

In step S801, the CPU 121 receives a print job from the terminal device110.

In step S802, the CPU 121 analyzes the received print job. In thisembodiment, the print job includes the print setting informationcorresponding to the content of the setting items 703 to 708 set throughthe print setting screen 701 and image data. Therefore, the CPU 121specifically obtains the print setting information and the image dataincluded in the print job.

In step S803, the CPU 121 specifies a printing method employed whenprinting is performed based on the print job in accordance with theprint setting information obtained by the analysis performed in stepS802. In a case where the medium size is “A4” and the medium type is“photo paper”, for example, content of the items does not correspond tosettings of the disk medium printing, and therefore, the CPU 121specifies the sheet medium printing to be performed on A4 photo paper.

However, information indicating one of the setting items may not beincluded in the print setting information depending on an OS installedin the terminal device 110, a model of the terminal device 110, or anapplication which instructs printing, for example. Furthermore, “12cm×12 cm” is set as the medium size for execution of the disk mediumprinting as described above. A square sheet having the size “12 cm×12cm” may also be used in the sheet medium printing. Specifically, in acase where the print setting information includes medium sizeinformation “12 cm×12 cm” but does not include the medium typeinformation or the supply unit information, for example, any one of thedisk medium printing and the sheet medium printing may be specified.Therefore, in a case where the print setting information includesspecific information (the medium size information “12 cm×12 cm” in thisembodiment), a process of specifying a printing method is executed inthis embodiment. Hereinafter, the process of specifying a printingmethod will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9.

The CPU 121 makes the determination using a table in which a printingmethod to be used, the medium type information, and the supply unitinformation are associated with one another (hereinafter, referred to asan “association table”).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the association table used when themedium size information included in the print setting informationindicates “12 cm×12 cm”. In this embodiment, “non/auto”, “disk”, and“plain paper/photo paper” are set as items of a medium type 901.Furthermore, “non/auto”, “disk” indicating the disk medium supply unit127, and “ASF” indicating the sheet feeding unit 126 are set as items ofa supply unit 902. Note that “non” indicates an item to be referred towhen the print setting information does not include the medium typeinformation or the supply unit information. The CPU 121 specifies one ofprinting methods described in the table illustrated in FIG. 9 inaccordance with the medium type information and the supply unitinformation included in the obtained print setting information.

Furthermore, “disk medium printing” and “sheet medium printing” areincluded in the table of FIG. 9 as printing methods. In the disk mediumprinting, printing is performed on a disk medium, and therefore, “disk”is selected as the medium type and “disk” is selected as the supply unitin the print setting. Therefore, in a case where the medium typeinformation included in the print setting information indicates “disk”and the supply unit information indicates “disk”, the CPU 121 specifiesthe disk medium printing as a printing method with reference to apattern 907 in the table of FIG. 9. Furthermore, in the sheet mediumprinting, printing is performed on a recording medium (such as a sheet)other than a disk medium, and therefore, “plain paper/photo paper” isselected as the medium type and “ASF” is selected as the supply unit.Therefore, in a case where the medium type information included in theprint setting information indicates “plain paper/photo paper” and thesupply unit information indicates “ASF”, the CPU 121 specifies the sheetmedium printing as a printing method with reference to a pattern 911.

Furthermore, when one of the medium type information and the supply unitinformation indicates “non/auto”, the CPU 121 specifies a printingmethod corresponding to the other of the information. Specifically, whenthe other of the information indicates “disk”, the CPU 121 specifies thedisk medium printing as a printing method with reference to a pattern904 or a pattern 906. Furthermore, when the other of the informationindicates “plain paper/photo paper” or “ASF”, the CPU 121 specifies thesheet medium printing as a printing method with reference to a pattern905 or a pattern 909.

Furthermore, when both of the medium type information and the supplyunit information indicate “non/auto”, the CPU 121 specifies the processof determining a printing method with reference to a pattern 903. In theprocess of determining a printing method, the CPU 121 determines whetherthe sheet feeding unit 126 holds a sheet using the sheet detection unit129. When the determination is affirmative, the CPU 121 sets contentcorresponding to the medium information of the communication device 120registered in step S207 as the medium type, determines “ASF” as thesupply unit information, and therefore, specifies the sheet mediumprinting. On the other hand, when the determination is negative, the CPU121 determines “disk” as the medium type and “disk” as the supply unitinformation in a printing method, and specifies the disk medium printingas a printing method. Note that the CPU 121 may determine whether thedisk medium supply unit 127 holds a disk medium using the disk mediumdetection unit 130 and specify a printing method in accordance with aresult of the determination.

Furthermore, in a case where information indicating a medium typeindicates “disk” and information indicating the supply unit indicates“ASF”, the CPU 121 performs the process of determining a printing methoddescribed above with reference to a pattern 908. Furthermore, also in acase where information indicating a medium type indicates “plainpaper/photo paper” and information indicating the supply unit indicates“disk”, the CPU 121 similarly performs the process of determining aprinting method described above with reference to a pattern 910. This isbecause, since the information indicating the medium type and theinformation indicating the supply unit do not match each other, one ofthe disk medium printing and the sheet medium printing to be employed isnot uniquely specified. Note that, in the case where the informationindicating the medium type and the information indicating the supplyunit do not match each other as the cases of the patterns 908 and 910,the CPU 121 may determine that an error has occurred and terminate thejob without executing the process of determining a printing method.Alternatively, one of the printing methods to be preferentiallyspecified may be set in advance, and the one of the printing methods maybe specified in accordance with the setting.

With this configuration, even in a case where the medium sizeinformation included in the print setting information received from theterminal device 110 may be used in both of the disk medium printing andthe sheet medium printing, a printing method may be specified inaccordance with the medium type information and the supply unitinformation.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, even in a case where any one ofinformation indicating the setting items is not obtained, such as themedium type information or the supply unit information, or in a casewhere “auto” is set, a printing method may be specified in accordancewith a result of a detection performed by the sheet detection unit 129.

Furthermore, even in a case where set content is not appropriate due toan input error of the user 200, a printing method may be specified inaccordance with a result of the detection performed by the sheetdetection unit 129 or the disk medium detection unit 130.

Subsequently, in step S804, the CPU 121 performs printing in accordancewith the printing method specified in step S803. Specifically, whenspecifying the disk medium printing, first, the CPU 121 displays ascreen for prompting the user 200 to set a disk medium in the diskmedium supply unit 127 in the display unit 131. When a disk medium isset by the user, the printing based on the print job is performed on thedisk medium supplied from the disk medium supply unit 127. Furthermore,when the sheet medium printing is specified, the CPU 121 performsprinting based on the print job on a recording medium supplied from thesheet feeding unit 126.

In step S805, the CPU 121 determines whether an error occurs in theprinting performed by the communication device 120. When thedetermination is negative, the CPU 121 proceeds to step S806 where it isdetermined whether printing is completed. When the determination isnegative in step S806, the process in step S805 is performed again,whereas when the determination is affirmative, the process isterminated.

On the other hand, when the determination is affirmative in step S805,the CPU 121 proceeds to step S807 where it is determined whether anerror which is not supported by the terminal device 110 has occurred. Aprocess of determining an error notification will be described below indetail. When the determination is affirmative in step S807, the CPU 121proceeds to step S808. The CPU 121 displays a screen indicating that anerror has occurred (an error notification screen) during the printing inthe display unit 131 of the communication device 120 but does notdisplay the error notification screen in the display unit 116 of theterminal device 110. Specifically, the CPU 121 does not transmitinformation indicating that an error has occurred during the printing tothe terminal device 110.

On the other hand, when the determination is negative in step S807, theCPU 121 proceeds to step S809 where the CPU 121 displays the errornotification screen in both of the display unit 131 and the display unit116. Note that, in this case, the CPU 121 transmits the informationindicating that an error has occurred during the printing to theterminal device 110 so that the information is displayed in the displayunit 116. Note that not only the information indicating that an errorhas occurred during the printing but also an operation method forcancelling the generated error may be displayed in the errornotification screen displayed in step S808 and step S809.

Subsequently, the CPU 121 accepts a user operation of cancelling thegenerated error in step S810. The operation of cancelling the generatederror corresponds to an operation of exchanging ink if the generatederror indicates shortage of ink. The operation of cancelling thegenerated error corresponds to an operation of supplying a recordingmedium corresponding to the printing method specified in step S803 ifthe generated error indicates shortage of sheet or absence of disk. Ifthe error is cancelled, the CPU 121 restarts the printing which has beeninterrupted due to the occurrence of the error and performs the processin step S805 again.

Here, the process of determining an error notification in step S807 willbe described in detail. The error which is not supported by the terminaldevice 110 (hereinafter referred to as “unsupported error”) indicates anerror unique to the disk medium printing, for example. This is because,in a case where communication between the devices is performed inaccordance with the standard system protocol, even if an error unique tothe disk medium printing is transmitted to the terminal device 110, ascreen for the error unique to the disk medium printing may not bedisplayed in the terminal device 110. A reason that the screen for theerror unique to the disk medium printing may not be displayed in theterminal device 110 will be described below.

Examples of the error unique to the disk medium printing include a “diskabsence error”, a “tray absence error”, and a “tray discharging error”.The “disk absence error” indicates a state in which the disk mediumsupply unit 127 does not hold a disk medium. The “tray absence error”indicates a state in which a disk medium tray has not been inserted intothe disk medium supply unit 127. The “tray discharging error” indicatesa state in which a tray may not be discharged since the cover of theinsertion slot of the tray is closed. Note that examples of an errorwhich is not unique to the disk medium printing include a “sheetshortage error” indicating a state in which the sheet feeding unit 126does not hold a medium and an “ink shortage error” indicating a state inwhich the communication device 120 is short of ink.

Specifically, the CPU 121 determines whether a printing method employedin the printing currently performed is the disk medium printing in stepS807. The CPU 121 performs the determination in accordance with the typeof the printing method specified in step S803 and various information(such as the supply unit information and the medium type information)included in the received print setting information. When determiningthat the printing method employed in the current printing is not thedisk medium printing, the CPU 121 determines that the error whichcurrently occurs is not unsupported error. On the other hand, whendetermining that the printing method employed in the current printing isthe disk medium printing, the CPU 121 determines whether the currenterror is the error unique to the disk medium printing. The CPU 121performs the determination in accordance with error list informationstored in the ROM 122 of the communication device 120. When determiningthat the current error is not the error unique to the disk mediumprinting, the CPU 121 determines that the current error is notunsupported error. On the other hand, when determining that the currenterror is the error unique to the disk medium printing, the CPU 121determines that the current error is unsupported error.

After the process in step S807, the CPU 121 displays the errornotification screen in the display unit 131 and the display unit 116 inaccordance with a result of the determination in step S807 as describedabove.

The reason that the error notification screen is not displayed in thedisplay unit 116 when the generated error is the unsupported error willnow be described.

To display the error notification screen in the display unit 116,information indicating that an unsupported error has occurred during theprinting is required to be transmitted to the terminal device 110.However, the terminal device 110 does not support display of the screenfor notification of information indicating that an unsupported error hasoccurred, and therefore, the terminal device 110 may not display theerror notification screen even if receiving the information.Specifically, in the case where the generated error is an unsupportederror, the information indicating that the unsupported error hasoccurred during the printing is transmitted in vain. Therefore, asdescribed above, since the display unit 116 does not display the errornotification screen when the unsupported error has occurred, theinformation indicating that the unsupported error has occurred is nottransmitted in vain.

If the unsupported error is the disk absence error, when receiving theinformation indicating that the disk absence error has occurred, theterminal device 110 may mistakenly recognize that the sheet shortageerror has occurred depending on specification of the installed OS.Furthermore, it is assumed that the same error information (theinformation indicating that the medium absence error has occurred) istransmitted also in a case where the communication device 120 does notdistinguish the disk absence error and the sheet shortage error fromeach other and one of the errors occurs, for example. Also in this case,the terminal device 110 may mistakenly recognize that the sheet shortageerror has occurred depending on the specification of the installed OSalthough the disk absence error has occurred.

Note that a method for cancelling the error unique to the disk mediumprinting is different from a method for cancelling an error which hasoccurred during the sheet medium printing, and therefore, a screen ofthe method for cancelling the error unique to the disk medium printingis different from a screen of the method for cancelling an error whichhas occurred during the sheet medium printing. Therefore, if theterminal device 110 mistakenly recognizes that the sheet shortage errorhas occurred although the disk absence error has occurred, the displayunit 131 and the display unit 116 display different error notificationscreens. Accordingly, as described above, since the display unit 116does not display the error notification screen when the generated erroris an unsupported error, an appropriate screen is displayed only in thedisplay unit 131, and therefore, confusion of the user may besuppressed.

Furthermore, in general, only one disk medium may be set in the diskmedium supply unit 127. Therefore, in a case where the disk mediumprinting is successively performed, it may be determined that the mediumabsence error has occurred when the communication device 120 intends toexecute printing on a second disk medium onwards after printing on afirst disk medium is completed. In this embodiment, the errornotification screen is not displayed in the terminal device 110 even ifan error occurs during the disk medium printing, and therefore,transmission of notification of the medium absence error transmittedwhen the disk medium printing is successively performed may besuppressed. Note that, in this embodiment, the error notification screenis displayed only in the communication device 120 during the disk mediumprinting. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Forexample, the error notification screen for notification of the mediumabsence error may not be displayed also in the communication device 120.In this case, instead of the error notification screen for thenotification of the medium absence error, a screen for prompting theuser to newly set a disk medium may be displayed.

Note that the CPU 121 may change an error notification method dependingon a determination as to whether the communication between the devicesis executed in accordance with the standard system protocol or thenon-standard system protocol supported by the communication device 120.In this case, after the process in step S805, the CPU 121 determineswhether the communication between the devices is executed in accordancewith the standard system protocol or the non-standard system protocolsupported by the communication device 120. When determining that thecommunication between the devices is executed in accordance with thestandard system protocol, the CPU 121 executes the process in step S807onwards. On the other hand, when determining that the communicationbetween the devices is executed in accordance with the non-standardsystem protocol supported by the communication device 120, the CPU 121displays the error notification screen in both of the display unit 131and the display unit 116. Specifically, information indicating that anerror has occurred in the communication device 120 is transmitted to theterminal device 110. This is because, in the case where thecommunication between the devices is executed in accordance with thenon-standard system protocol supported by the communication device 120,the terminal device 110 may recognize the error notification informationand display screens corresponding to individual errors. Specifically,this is because a screen indicating the error cancelling method may bedisplayed even in the case where the generated error is the error uniqueto the disk medium printing.

With this configuration, usability of the disk medium printing throughthe terminal device 110 may be improved.

Other Embodiments

Note that the communication system of this embodiment may include aserver which relays the communication between the terminal device 110and the communication device 120, and the server may perform the mediuminformation transmission determination, the printing method specifyingprocess, and the error notification determination process. In this case,the server may obtain information required for the processes and thedetermination from the communication device 120 and the terminal device110.

Note that, although it is determined whether the disk medium informationis to be transmitted to the terminal device 110 in the mediuminformation transmission determination in the foregoing embodiment, thepresent invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the mediuminformation to be subjected to the medium information transmissiondetermination may be information indicating another medium instead ofthe disk medium information as long as the medium information may not beregistered in the disk medium information registration process.

Although the printing method specifying process is executed by thecommunication device 120 in the foregoing embodiment, the presentinvention is not limited to this. Specifically, the printing methodspecifying process may be executed by the terminal device 110 when theprint setting information is input by the user, for example. In thiscase, if information indicating a result of detection by the sheetdetection unit 129 or the disk medium detection unit 130 is required forthe printing method specifying process, the terminal device 110 obtainsthe information from the communication device 120 where appropriate.When the specifying of the printing method is completed, the terminaldevice 110 transmits information indicating the specified printingmethod to the communication device 120.

Although only an option of medium information, that is, informationindicating a medium held by the communication device 120, is displayedin the print setting screen 701 in the foregoing embodiment, the presentinvention is not limited to this. For example, the terminal device 110may obtain information indicating a function of the communication device120 (functional information) from the communication device 120 anddisplay an option of the functional information in addition to theoption of the medium information in the print setting screen 701. In theprinting based on the standard system protocol, the terminal device 110may not display an option of the functional information in the printsetting screen 701 depending on a type of the OS installed in theterminal device 110. Specifically, the terminal device 110 may displayonly the option of the medium information. In this embodiment, todisplay an option associated with the disk medium printing in the printsetting screen 701, medium information corresponding to the disk mediumprinting is transmitted instead of the functional informationcorresponding to the disk medium printing. By this, an option associatedwith the disk medium printing may be displayed also in the terminaldevice 110 described above.

The foregoing embodiment may be realized by executing the followingprocess. Specifically, software (programs) which realizes the functionsof the foregoing embodiment is supplied to a system or an apparatusthrough a network or various storage media, and a computer (a CPU or anMPU) of the system or the apparatus reads and executes the programs. Theprograms may be executed by one computer or executed by a plurality ofcomputers operating in combination. Furthermore, all the processes arenot to be realize and some of or all the processes described above maybe realized by hardware, such as ASIC. Furthermore, only one CPU mayexecute a plurality of processes or a plurality of CPUs may perform theprocesses in combination where appropriate.

According to the present invention, usability in the print settingoperation may be improved.

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A printing device comprising: a first holdingunit configured to hold a first recording medium that is disk-like andcapable of storing information; a second holding unit configured to holda second recording medium that is different from the first recordingmedium; and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processorperforms operations comprising: performing printing on the firstrecording medium or the second recording medium based on a print jobreceived from a terminal device, in a case that a first error regardingat least one of the first holding unit and the first recording mediumoccurs in the printing device after receiving the print job, notperforming processing for causing the terminal device to performnotification regarding the first error, and in a case that a seconderror that is different from the first error occurs in the printingdevice after receiving the print job, performing processing for causingthe terminal device to perform notification regarding the second error.